They arrived at the hut in which their bounty resided. They branched off in order to surround the place. Hidan had that cocky, eager grin plastered on his face while Kakuzu showed no sign of his enjoyment. Kakuzu waited patiently once he spotted his partner stationed directly across from him in the bushes. After awhile, Kakuzu could see Hidan was getting impatient. He gave a nod in reluctance and watched Hidan creep from his hiding place and up to the hut.
Hidan peered inside and saw no light source. His brow furrowed in confusion then went to look for a place where he could slip in. Kakuzu growled softly to himself when Hidan disappeared from his line of sight. He felt something he hadn't felt in awhile -worry. However he knew not the reason. Hidan was immortal so surely he would be completely fine. He sighed then dug through the bag to look for the mission information.
Hidan found an opening soon enough in the back of the hovel. It was a window but there was no sign of life within. He looked around once inside, padding softly through what looked to be the kitchen. He headed into a hallway to look for the bedroom, ignoring the pictures of a familiar snake-man hanging on the walls. He soon found the bounty exactly where he suspected, face down in the pillows of a very comfortable-looking bed.
He smiled insanely at the prospect of a kill. It was a shame that it would be easy and painless. He rose a pike over the man's heart. He did not expect what was yet to come…
Kakuzu tensed after reading something of importance on the scroll he had overlooked. Of course, it wouldn't be something too worry about when your partner was immortal. However, Kakuzu still felt something for the moron he was paired with. One of Orochimaru's escaped pets is not someone to underestimate. Especially when it has such a hefty sum overhead.
He hastily put the scroll away when he heard the front door open. He looked up, hoping to see Hidan there. But no, it was their target, wearing an evil expression. Kakuzu tried to see any sign of his partner pursuing but there was none to be seen or heard. Kakuzu sprang from his hiding place, catching his victim completely by surprise.
The kill was quick and silent. Kakuzu was utterly confused by this fact. What the hell had his partner been doing then? There was no way someone so weak could have harmed someone as strong as Hidan. (xD Kuzu gave a compliment.) Kakuzu pushed the door open and started to seek out his companion's chakra signal. He wondered why it seemed smaller than usual as he followed it into the bedroom.
The bedroom was empty - or so he thought. He was just about to turn and leave when he heard a whimper from the bed's direction. He approached then looked down at a quivering pile of blankets. He sighed, grasping the covers.
"Alright you cowardly fool, what is your prob-" He blinked in utter shock at what greeted him under the sheets.
"Sasori, Deidara; Pein wishes for you two to meet with Kakuzu and Hidan." Zetsu informed the two artists whom where on their way back from a mission near the Hidden Sound Village.
"What? Why, un?" Deidara asked.
All he wanted was a nice relaxing break at home. His clay supply was pretty much depleted. Not to mention Sasori had to do some repairs -thanks to Deidara's 'art'- on Hiruko. The master scowled at Zetsu from within his slightly blackened defense puppet.
"Yes, why?" He grumbled.
"You'll all be going on another mission together. But it should be fairly easy with the four of you." Zetsu replied, handing Deidara the mission information. "You can find them not too far from here."
"Ugh. I'm outta clay though, un!" Deidara pouted.
"And I need to fix up Hiruko after that brat set one of his 'masterpieces' off without regard for his surroundings." Sasori added a mocking tone to mention of Deidara's art.
"Maybe if that ugly thing was built for speed you wouldn't have a problem, Sasori-danna." Deidara scowled.
Zetsu took this opportunity to slowly melt away. Fights you don't want to get between would be between Sasori against Deidara, for fear of being blown up or poisoned. Nor between Kakuzu vs. Hidan simply because their methods are quite violent with no chance of a mortal surviving. Once the cannibal had vanished, however, the two artists turned from their stare down. Lately… neither were up to trying to kill each other.
It was no time before they had arrived near their destination. The hut looked deserted. They headed towards the entrance to find a bloodstain in the grass. They exchanged a look, a brow raised. Their comrades had been here alright. The question was, where? Sasori wait outside to keep guard while Deidara ducked inside. The bomber kept a straight path which led him into a bedroom.
Deidara had expected to see the two immortals either in the bed or the room completely abandoned. However he was surprised to find a small, naked boy sitting on the bed, crying out for his mother. Deidara blinked, rubbing his blue eyes - the boy looked to be about five and had snow-white hair. Had Kakuzu and Hidan merely killed the boy's father then left the child for dead? It seemed their style.
"Hey, kid, don't cry, un." Deidara sat on the bed by him, cooing as he reached out to rub his back.
"D-Don't!" the child cried when he felt the blonde touch him.
He flinched away and scurried to the head of the bed. Deidara started at this then frowned. He would be sure to tell Kakuzu a thing or two about abusing poor children. He sighed then crawled over to the boy, ignoring his struggles. He pulled him to his chest and stroked his soft, slightly messy hair.
"It's alright, un. That big, scary monster's gone for now. I won't let him harm you next time, un." He cooed.
Eventually the child quieted and Deidara smiled softly. He looked at the tear stained face to discover he had fallen asleep. How cute, he mused, standing up with the kid cradled in his arms. He headed out the door to depart with Sasori. They would have to look for Kakuzu and Hidan at the nearby collection offices.
Calling Kakuzu a monster... not nice, Dei, not nice at all... KIDS ARE THE REAL MONSTERS!
